There was no need to tell Amélie that if her father gave his men orders to bring her home, they would do so, no matter what it took. “I will keep you in the loop. The only good thing is that Dad doesn’t know anything about you.”
“And if he did, it wouldn’t matter. I know how to handle controlling fathers -I had one myself. Ida was a fool for caving. That cover on Vogue helped jumpstart your modeling career, and I plan to ensure the name Eden is known worldwide. Vogue is just the beginning. Take care of yourself, and I expect you to keep in touch, just to let me know you’re okay.”
“Will do, Amélie. Goodbye.”
Coming out of the phone booth, Eden studied her surroundings. She was at a strip mall somewhere in Phoenix. She only knew that because Beth had told her that when she had dropped her off. Eden had liked Beth and her girls, but hatedthat she’d had to give them a fake name. Still, it had been for the best. The fewer people who knew of her whereabouts, the better.
One thing was for certain -this place was definitely in the holiday spirit. Every shop was decorated with Christmas decorations. Christmas had always been her favorite holiday, but not this year. After finding out about her modeling contract, her father had demanded she come home for Christmas. When she had refused, reminding him that she was now twenty-one, he had told her she didn’t have a choice.
That was when she decided to prove him wrong. Instead of going home to Boston, she had packed as many of her belongings as she could get into her backpack and left her apartment, bound for parts unknown. She had taken the train from New York to Philly, and then the bus to New Jersey. She’d been lucky to run into Beth at a coffee shop in Trenton.
“Hey, green eyes. I’ve been watching you. Aren’t you a pretty little thing?” a man said.
Eden blinked at the tall, robust man who had suddenly appeared in front of her. He wore jeans and a t-shirt that seemed to have had better days.He’d been watching her? At least he wasn’t one of her father’s men. All of them wore business suits.
Deciding to ignore him, she moved to go around him when he grabbed her arm. “Turn me loose.”
“No, sweetheart, you are coming with me. And if you think of screaming, I will break your arm,” he threatened.
“If you don’t turn me loose, you’ll be sorry,” she warned him.
“I doubt that,” he said with a sneer. “Now come with me.”
When he tried pulling her toward a beat-up pickup truck parked at the curb, she knew she had to make a move and do it now, even if it was in the middle of a busy sidewalk filled with Christmas shoppers. Unfortunately, the shoppers seemed more interested in the sales posted in the stores’ windows than in a woman about to be abducted in broad daylight.
The one thing she would forever appreciate was her father’s decision to have her take self-defense classes. Eden knew she surprised the heck out of the man when she went in combat mode, kicking his legs from under him, before using her pointed-toe boot to kick him in the groin. He released her, falling to his knees and howling in pain while clutching his balls.
Eden took off running and didn’t look back. Rounding the corner at the end of a building, she darted in between cars and kept running until she came to what looked to be a truck stop. She glanced toward a parked tractor-trailer. Its back was open and boxes were being loaded into it. Hiding low behind a crate, she waited until the two men who were standing by the truck went into the building. Seeing her chance, she ran to the truck and peeked inside. Deciding this was a safe place to hide for a minute, she climbed into the back and found a good place behind several tall boxes that shielded her from view. The men returned, and she heard them talking.
“Do you think you will make it to Escondido with this shipment before nightfall, Drew?”
“That’s the plan. It’s just across the California border. Then I will reload and head east to make a delivery to Dollywood.”
“That park is still under construction?”
“Yes. It’s supposed to be completed in another year.”
“That’s a thirty-hour haul from California to Tennessee, right?”
“Thirty-five with periodic stops in between, which includes three hotel stays. I’ll get there in three and a half days, hopefully.”
“Where will you spend the holidays, since North Carolina is off limits to you? It’s a shame you can’t spend the holidays with your family.”
“It’ll be fine. When I leave Dollywood, I plan to head up the Smoky Mountains to a lodge there. I’ll start back a day or two after New Year’s.”
“If you change your mind, you’re always welcome to join me and Marcie for Christmas dinner.”
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine. I’m looking forward to a little alone time. It’ll be nice to enjoy some peace and quiet for a change.”
Fred nodded. “Thanks again for agreeing to deliver those bikes to Delores when you get to Escondido. She’s having a hard time since Stan died, and I wanted to surprise my nephews with those bikes for Christmas.”
“I had extra space in my truck, so it’s no problem.”
“Well, I appreciate it, Drew. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
“The same to you, Fred.”
Then they closed the back of the truck, and everything went dark. Eden pulled her miniature flashlight from her backpack and glanced around. Boxes were everywhere, but there was space for her to stretch out, and a quilted blanket that covered one of the boxes looked clean and decent. It would have to do.
